Page 159 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9 AND 10 | Canadian and World Studies

A. POLITICAL INQUIRY AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
OVERALL EXPECTATIONS Throughout this course, students will:
SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS
A1. Political Inquiry
Throughout this course, students will:
A1.1 formulate different types of questions to guide investigations into issues, events, and/or developments of civic importance (e.g., factual questions: What form of government does Canada have? What are my rights and responsibilities as
a citizen in my local community?; comparative questions: What are the similarities and differences in the positions of stakeholder groups
on an issue related to local transit in Ontario?; causal questions: If I were to implement this plan of action, what impact might it have on my community?)
A1.2 select and organize relevant evidence, data, and information on issues, events, and/or developments of civic importance from a variety of primary and secondary sources (e.g., primary sources: interviews, photographs, podcasts, speeches, statistics, surveys; secondary sources: investigative news stories, textbooks, most websites), ensuring that their sources reflect multiple perspectives
Sample questions: “If you were advocating for recreational space for youth in your community, why would it be important to gather statistics on the number of people in the local community and their ages? Are there people you might interview about the need for such a space?” “Why might political cartoons be a good source on the ideas of a political leader and the public response to those ideas?”
A1.3 assess the credibility of sources relevant to their investigations (e.g., the reliability of the evidence presented in a source; the purpose, intended audience, and context of a source; the bias, values, and expertise of the speaker/author)
Sample questions: “Does this author back up his or her position with specific evidence or data, or are the claims unsupported?” “What criteria might you use to help you determine
if a source is credible?” “Are there reasons to think that this source might be biased in some way?” “What ideas are presented in this inter- view or news story? Do your other sources on this issue support these ideas? If not, which source do you think is the most reliable? Why?”
A1.4 interpret and analyse evidence, data, and information relevant to their investigations using various tools, strategies, and approaches appropriate for political inquiry (e.g., use a 5W’s chart to help them begin to analyse the information they have gathered; analyse their evidence for the points of view of different stakeholders and record them on a web chart; assess the validity and rank the importance of the points made in their sources; collaborate with their peers to discuss, clarify, and compare positions on the issue)
Sample questions: “What type of tool might help you clarify the different positions on an issue?” “If you were talking to people who were extremely passionate about an issue, what questions might you ask to get them to clarify and build on their ideas about the issue?” “What approaches might one take to include ideas
on an issue from people whose voices are not always heard?”
POLITICAL INQUIRY AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
A1. Political Inquiry: use the political inquiry process and the concepts of political thinking when investigating issues, events, and developments of civic importance;
A2. Developing Transferable Skills: apply in everyday contexts skills developed through investigations related to civics and citizenship education, and identify some careers in which civics and citizenship education might be an asset.
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Civics and Citizenship
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